The FIA Foundation has joined the Costa Rican Automobile Club, and the country’s Ministry for Transport, National Council for Road Safety and National Insurance Institute in a major new seat belt awareness campaign. The objective is to reduce the large number road fatalities which have become the third cause of death in Costa Rica and the first cause of violent death in a country where only 24% of drivers wear their seat belt. A seatbelt slide donated by the FIA Foundation will be touring the country and will give the public the opportunity to experience the benefits of the seat belt even at the simulated low impact speed of 30 km/h. The campaign’s slogan ‘Por Amor Use el Cinturon’ (For love, use a seat belt) calls on the Costa Ricans not to forget that every road casualty leaves behind a mourning family.
The press conference to launch the campaign was held at a symbolic location: the old Parliament building at the national heritage park Pueblo Antiguo. Costa Rica had a compulsory seat belt legislation in place as early as 1987 but it was lifted by the Constitutional Court after a civil action was filed on the basis that wearing a seat belt is a matter of personal choice. After the legislation was cancelled, seat belt use plummeted and fatalities as a result of car crashes rose by more than 50%. Subsequent attempts to restore the legislation have failed.
This is what motivated the Costa Rican government and the Costa Rican Automobile club, with the support of the FIA Foundation, to change the tide.
Endorsing the seat belt campaign at the press conference were Minister for Transport Javier Chavez, Vice-Minister for Transport Karla Gonzalez, Director of the Traffic Police Ignacio Sánchez Cantillano, Trustee of the FIA Foundation Carlos Macaya, Executive Director of the National Insurance Institute Mr Germán Serrano and Director of the Cost Rican Automobile Club Elliot Coen.
The results of a nation-wide survey in July 2003 were presented at the launch: the seat belt use rate is only 24% and the most important reason given by people for not buckling up is that they feel it is inconvenient. But Minister for Transport Javier Chavez said: ‘In life we take many decisions, and whether or not to wear a seat belt is one of them. It is a matter of starting the engine and deciding whether you are going to put it on or not. That is the only effort it takes. Once you make buckling up a habit, you will travel safely on the roads.’
Casualty data reveal that 92% of the drivers who died in car crashes were not wearing their seat belt. But for many people these are mere statistics and they believe it will not happen to them. Mr Germán Serrano, Executive Director of the International Insurance Institute knows how quickly a number can turn into the name of a beloved person. His two sons owe their lives to the seat belt they were wearing when they were involved in a car accident.
Vice-Minister for Transport Karla Gonzalez said that the success of the campaign will not only depend on the transport authorities but on the entire Costa Rican community. Although road traffic accidents cannot be eradicated, lives can be saved. FIA Foundation representative Carlos Macaya pointed out that the death toll in Costa Rican is also a reflection of the global road safety crisis and that the results of the seat belt campaign could be presented in time for next year’s World Health Day, which is dedicated to road safety, to demonstrate that it is possible to prevent road traffic injuries and deaths.
At a lunch held after the press conference, the speakers made an appeal to the assembled leaders of political groups, members of the Parliament, the Senate and representatives of the Constitutional Court, to take up their responsibility and to give the new legislation a fair chance. The President of the Parliament, Mario Redondo took the floor and confirmed that the legislation had been tabled at the Parliament and that, contrary to normal procedures, it had not been assigned to a Committee in order to ensure a swift legislative process.
Rosario Alessi, the Chairman of the FIA Foundation congratulated the Costa Ricans for taking road safety to heart and said that the message the campaign wants to transmit to car drivers and passengers is that it only takes seconds to put on a seat belt but that it can prevent death and serious injuries when a car crash occurs. He also congratulated the Costa Rican campaign organisers for their choice of the slogan ‘Por amor use el cinturón’ because, he said, it is love for life - one’s own and that of others – that will make us more careful when we are behind the wheel.
The campaign will continue for several months and celebrities visiting Costa Rica to support the seat belt message are expected to include F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya.